Conf  Pam  12mo  #566 


■X 

NO.  10,. 


D02^'T  SWE^E! 


BY  py.  J.  B.  JETE%  D.  D.,  RICHMOND,  VA, 


WiiT,  ehould  you  ?  Profane, 8  wearing, ban  uvprojiid^ 
hie  practice.  Other  sins  maj  yield  you.  t  momentary  ad 
vantage,  or  pleasura,  but  this  cannot.  No^  man  will  re' 
Epect  you  the  more,  y«u  will  not, even  have  Vhigher  self- 
respect,  b^eause  yau  awear.  None  \will  believe  ynor  word 
iinor^ Tcadilj:  because  ypu  cotifiri:pVifty  an  .  uncalled  for 
oath.  ^  maa  ©f  sense  dtjofi?'  8ie  yri^oe  a-aiark  of  good 
breeding,  intelligence,  honor  or  coufSfe.  No  person  could 
be  admitted  into  good  society,  or  put  it^  a  post  of  trns^ 
-jind  emolument,  on  the  claim  that  he  swcara,  or  excel*   jn 


tlie  art  of  sVearlng.  If  ifc  makes  any  man  appear  great, 
it  is  oalj  in  his  owa  ejes.  If  it  yiells  any  pleasure,*  U 
is  only  such  as  a  fiond  might  enj»y.  It  has  not  even  the 
excuse  of  a  strong  temptation.  It  originates  in  no  natural 
craving  of  man's  physical,  intellectual  or  moral  nature.— 
There  i^a  fish,  called  the  Fool  fish,  that  will  bite  at  a  nai*- 
ked  hook  to  its  own  destruction.  We  wonder  at  its  lack 
of  the  instinct  of  self-preservation;  but  we  wonder  more 
that  mia,  cheated  ia  the  imige  of  God,  endowed  with  rea« 
son  and  congoience,  should  indulge  in  profanity  froai  the 
pure  love  of  ginniag. 

Swearing  is  not  only  tinprofitahle  but  impolite,  She 
truly  polite  man  will  do  nothing  that  may  inflict  needless, 
pain  on  others.  Pious  people  hold  the  name  ot  God  ia 
great  reverence.  They  are  grieved  when  they  hear  it 
iblasphemed,  or  lightly  «sed.  Some  years  ago,  an  eminent 
•clergyman  said  to  a  person  whom  he  .chanced  to  meet, 
<  You  have  hurt  my  feelings."  "I  am  sure,  «aid  the  man/ 
"  I  did  not  intend  to  hurt  your  feelings.  What  have  I 
'done?''  *^  You  have  spoken  lightly  of  my  Father," re» 
^lied  the  clergyman.  "You  U'ust  be  mistaken'  returngd, 
the  accused  ;  "  when  did  I  speak  lightly  of  your  father?** 
<'  God  is  my  Father,"  answered  the  minister,  "  and  I 
heard  you  uttering  his  uame  lightly  and  irreverently/* 
!^'  I  beg  your  pardon,"  said  the  astonished  man.  "Thafc 
^ill  not  do,"  replied  the  pious  clergyman,  "  Tou  have  of- 


8 

fended  God,  and  you  mnst  ask  pardon  of  bim."  From 
that  moment  the  conscience-smitten  sinner,  from  whoL® 
lips  the' writer  received  the  story,  ceased  to  swear  and  bfe" 
gen  to  pray.  Who  does  not  perceive  that  to  use  the  name 
of  a  fatter  with  levity  or  disrespect  in  the  presence  of  his 
BOD  is  a  breach  of  politeness  ?  Is  itless  a  breackof  politeness 
io  outrage  the  feelingi  of  thc'pious  by  language  of  pro" 
fanity  and^blasphcmj  ? 

But,  it  may  be  said,  polite  men, do  swear.  It  is  admit- 
ted that  men  polite  in  other  respects  may  l^e  profane — > 
and  profane  to  the  mortification  and  grief  of  their  pious 
friends;  but  their  profanity  is  a  blot  on  their  fair  charac- 
ter for  politeness.  And  if  their  politeness  is  not  a  mere 
cham — a  thin  veil  to  conceal  their  vulgarity — they  wil^ 
be  prompt  to  acknowledge  that  their  profanity  is  in  der 
Ogation  of  their  politencsa. 

It  is  not  enough  to  affirm  that  swearing  is  impolite — it 
IB  vulgar.  It  is  emphatically  a  low  bred  vice.  It  i3  a 
cheap  sin.  To  adopt  the  prattice,  or  to  become  a  profi-» 
Cient  in  it,  requires  neither  genius,  n^^r  learning,  nor  wit 
nor  money,  nor  principl«?,  i:or  character.  The  swearer's 
whole  stock  in  trade  is  a  vulgar  taste,  a  frivolous  or  ma- 
lignant spirit,  a  few  hackneyed  phrases  that  may  be  easily 
picked  up  in  the  haunts  of  dissipation,  a  farehoad  of  brass 
and  a  tongue  unpalaied  by  the  God  "whom  it  blasphemes. 
Thus  furnished  he  is  prepared  to  go  forth  and  take  a  prom, 
inent  position  among  those  who   by   swearing   make  the 


land  mourn.  Jcr.  xxiii,  10.  This  vice  may  be  found 
among  the  licb,  the  learned  and  refiaed;  but  it  fiourishea 
most  among  the  ignorant,  tlie  mean  and  the  degraded. — 
Its  native  haunts  are  the  bar  room,  the  grogshop,  the  the* 
atre,  the  brothel;  the  dark  and  -filthy  lanes  of  the  city,  the 
|)risons  and  penitentiaries,  and  the  habitatons  of  degraded 
men. 

There  arc  still  stronger  reasons  why  you  should  not 
swear.  Swearing  is  a  wicked  practice.  It  is  written, 
''Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name  of  the  L©rd  thy  God  in 
yain.^'  Ex.  xx,  7.  "  Who  is  like  unto  thee,  0  Lord 
among  the  gods  ?  ^lo  is  like  unto  thee,  glorious  in  holi« 
ness,  fearful  in  praises,  doing  wcuders  ?"  Ex.  xx.  iJ. — 
Who  would  not  fear  thee,  0  king  of  nations  ?  for  to.  thee, 
doth  it  appertain."  Jer.  x,  1.  By  how  much  God  is 
great,  good  and  gloiious,  by  so  much  are  his  intelligent 
creatures  bound  to  hold  his  name  in  reverence.  God  is 
jealous  of  his  glory,  and  most  righteously  demands  that 
they  ^hall  render  to  him  the  homage  due  unto  his  name. 
To  utter  bis  name  lightly  in  oaths  or  curses,  -  is  to  treaj 
him  with  an  indignity  and  conteiapfc  which  they  would 
not  dare  to  offer  to  a  respected  fellow  creature.  This  sin 
is  the  more  inexcusable  because^  it  is  committed  against 
light.  Many  vices  are  the  excesses  of  innocent  disposi- 
tions and  lawful  indulgences.  They  may  imperceptibly 
pass  from  right  to  wrong.  The  most  discriminating  casu- 
alist  may  not  be  able  to  decide  at  what  point  the  right  ends 


and  the  wrong  begins.  But  the  line  of  demarkation  be- 
tween the  proper  and  the  profane  iiso  of  God's  name  is 
plain  and  unmistakable.  When  a  man  takes  the  nime  of 
God  in  vain,  he  sius  knowingly,  and  often  deliberately  an<i 
defiantly.  -  Ho  proclaims  that  he  has  not  the  fear  of  God 
before  his  eyes-— that  his  lips  are  his  own,  and  that  ho  wilj 
utter  what  words  ha  chooses. 

Swearing  soon  becormes  a  habit.  When  the  youth  ut. 
ters  bis  first  oath,  he  is  filled  with  shame  and  horiOp 
trembles  in  every  joint,  and  solemnly  promises  that  ho 
wilNwear  no  more.  Occasionally,  as  passion,  or  the  de 
sire  to  appear  manly,  or  free  from  religious  restraints 
prompts  him,  he  rgpcats  the  sin.  Gradually  his  heart  is 
kardened  and  his  conscience  is  seared,  and  in  a  short  time 
he  swearsj  not  only  without  compunction,  but  without 
thought.  The  vice  becomes  a  settled  habit.  Ho  multi- 
plies rapidly  his  profane  vocabulary — interlards  his  cam- 
mo*  conversation  with  oaths,  maledictioni  and  blasphe- 
mies— and  strains  his  ingenuity  to  coin  new  and  horrid 
profanities  bearing  the  impress  t)f  Beelzebub. 

The  vice  of  swearing  generally  leads  to  other.and  some- 
times worse  evils.  More  than  almost  any  other  sin,  pro- 
fanity begets  and  cherishes  an  impious  and  reckless  spir- 
it. T^he  man  who  deliberately  trifles  with  the  name  of  his 
august  Creator  andJudgecanBot.be    sapposed    to   havo 


any  reverence  for  bis  laws  or  any  fear  of  offending    him. 
He  may  be  restrained  by  self-interest,  or  respect  to  public 
Bentimenfc,  but  ffe  cannot  be  restrnined  by  divine    author- 
ity, from  indulging  in  any  sin  to  which  inclination   or  ad- 
vantage urges  him.     With  the  appetite  of  sinning    »tim-' 
nlated;  and  the  restraining  power  of  conscience  enfeebled, 
arid  the  fear  of  God^removed  from  before  i is  eyes,  it  i«  not 
eurprising  that  the  swearer  should  enter   on    a    career   of 
indulgence,  dissipation  and  wickedness,  wljich,  if  not    ar- 
rested by  grace,  will  plunge  him  into  ruin.     In  fact,   pro- 
i^Q  swearing  is  fyequeatly  associatad  with  gaming,  drunk- 
enness,   lewdness,    and  rioting.     The   -man    that  swear* 
opens  wide  the  gate  to  evefy  sin,  and  inyites  it  to    an   ea- 
sy entrance. 

B«t  lastly,  swearing  excludes  its  victim  frofn  Jieaveni 
**  The  Lord  luill  not  liold  Mm  (guiltless  that  (akeih  his 
name  in  vam/'-  The  sin  of  prefanity  is  lightly  esteemed 
among  men,  because  it  interferes  not  with  their  interests 
or  pleasures ;  but  <5r©d  does  not  esteem  it  lightly.  It  yi- 
olates  his  law,  tratbples  oq  his  authority,  dishonor*  his 
name,  and  provokas  his  just  and  fearful  iodignation.  Ij 
is  utterly  incompatible  with  piety,  »r  a  state  of  salvation. 
Like  any  other  sin,  if  it  is^not  that  parti«ular  foim  of  ife 
denominated  "blasphemy  against  the  Holy  Gho»t/' 
ilmay  fee  repented  of,  forsaken  and  pardoned;  bat  if  it 
be  cherished  and  persisted  in,  it    must    exclude    the  soul 


from  tlae  kingdom  «f  God.     Whoever   may  have  a   place 
there,  the  swearer  cannot.     There  is  no^  cursing  in   heav- 
en.    There  love,  harmonj  and  praise  abound.     The  re- 
deemed   standing  beford   the  throne    of  God    and  of  th^  * 
Lamb,  clothed  in  white  robes,  with  palms  in   their   hand* 
will  cry  with  a  loud  voice,   saying,  "Salvation  to  our   God 
wkitb  sitteth  upon  thcttroie,  and  unto  the  Lamb."  R«v, 
vii,  10.    Uow  discordant  would  be    the  voice    of  cursing 
and  swearing  amid  the  symphonies  of  heaven.     The  pro- 
faBd  will   find   congenial  sotiety  in   the  abyss  of  hell. — 
There  God  and  the  Lamb  are  hated  and  blasphemed  world 
without  end.     There  those  who    have  loved    cursing  and 
swearing  will  have  their  fill  of  it. 

Why  '^thtt;,  mortal,  jadgment-bound  man,  should  yom 
swear  ?  What  geod  can  eome  of  swearing  ?  What  plea 
can  you  oflfer  in  its  defence  or  extenuation  ?  *^  Wh  oe^fcei 
hardened  kimself  against  God  and  prospered  ?"  .  As  raticn** 
al  beings — as  members  of  sooieky — as  moral  agents — a^ 
eternity  destined  creatures,  you  are  solemnly  arged  to 
abandon  the  practiee.  You  can  abandon  it.  It  lies  withia 
the  power  of  the  natural  mac,  unassisted  by  divine  grace, 
U  break  away  from  a  habit  so  senseless  and  pernicious. 
Thousands,  from  mere  motives  of  self-respect,  have  %sU 
amphed  over  it,  and  you  may.  But  if  you  would  escapo 
the  guilt  and  fearful  consequenees  of  yoar  profanity,  you 
BQiust  repent  of  the  sin — your  cursing  musk  be  changed   i^. 


8 

to  prayer,and  your  blaspliemies  inCo  praiie — you  must  seek 
and  obtain  forgiveness  by  faith  in  the  blo§d  of  Christ — and 
0eourer  sucocr  against  yomr  besetting  sia  from  the  Fountain 
of  all  strength  and  graae.  Then  will  you  be  prepared  to 
pass  your  days  on  earth  safely,  happily  and  usefully,  to 
finish  your  coivse  with  joy  and  to  spend  eternity  in  the 
praise  and  fruition  of  Jesus.  To  him  be  glofy  and  do- 
minion foreyer  and  eyor.    Amen. 


This  and  other  publications  issued  for  gratuitous  distri-' 
bution,  by  the  Board  of  Missions  of  the  North  Carolina  Baptist 
State  Convention  can  be  obtained  by  addressing 

Rev.  N.  B.  COBB,  Cor.  Secretary, 

Raleigh,  N.  C.    , 


HoUinger  Corp. 
pH8.5 


